Exercise of the Kegel muscle may help to alleviate the problem of urinary incontinence in women. Urinary incontinence in women may be caused by pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, neurologic injury, birth defects or other physical problems. Ultimately, incontinence is caused by problems with muscles that help to hold or release urine. These muscles support the urethra, bladder, uterus and rectum and are known informally as pelvic floor muscles. More formal terms for these muscles include perineal muscles, sphincter muscles and pubococcygeus or Kegel muscles.
One can strengthen the Kegel muscle, which in turn leads to little or no unintended urine loss for many women. Other benefits of strengthening the Kegel muscle include enhanced sensitivity and stimulation during sexual activity and overall improved genital health.
Other devices for exercising the muscles in question have been previously disclosed. Examples of such devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,449 (Castellana et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,791 (Mitchener), U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,775 (Smith), U.S. Design Pat. No. D447,235 (Stein), U.S. Design Pat. No. D447,562 (Stein), U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,411 B1 (Guagliano et al.) and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 2003/0036464 A1 (Zavilevich).
The prior art muscle exercising devices taught in these references suffer from one or more drawbacks. Some require manipulation by the user's hands during exercise. Furthermore, none of the prior art Kegel exercising devices are constructed so as to surround the Kegel muscle and thus apply resistance to its front wall and back wall simultaneously. Also, none of the prior art Kegel exercising devices are constructed to evoke sexual stimulation when inserted into the vaginal cavity. Moreover, many of the prior art Kegel exercising devices are not designed to remain in place for long periods of time while the user is attending to other tasks. Finally, the prior art Kegel exercising devices are complicated and have moving parts, thus making them more expensive and causing potential for breakage and injury to the user.
Prior art Kegel muscle exercising devices are also not ergonomically constructed so as to maximize comfort when applied. Prior art massage devices previously disclosed are ergonomically constructed but are not meant to be used to exercise pelvic muscles. Such devices include those disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 336,959 (Liming), U.S. Design Pat. No. 403,431 (Gladieux, Jr.), U.S. Design Pat. No. 405,536 (Haynes), U.S. Design Pat. No. D456,909 (Szabo) and U.S. Design Pat. No. D475,793 (Tinsley).